Director's Study

David Fincher: Music Video Director Study –

 Although primarily a film director, David Fincher has directed many music videos, mostly throughout the 1980s and '90s. His most recent video, 1 of 3 he has directed since 2000 is Suit and Tie by Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z. Fincher has won two Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, for his work in "Love Is Strong" by The Rolling Stones (1995) and "Suit & Tie" by Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z (2013), and three MTV Video Music Awards for Best Direction, being one of the most awarded directors in the category, alongside Spike Jonze. He also earned back-to-back MTV Video Music Awards for Best Direction in 1989 for "Express Yourself" and in 1990 for "Vogue". In 1990, he earned three of the four available nominations in the Best Direction category.

Music Video Analysis:

Suit and Tie

I decided to compare this video, being Fincher's latest, to some of his earlier work. The video for Suit and Tie is in constant monochrome, lacking colour, giving a older feel. This is then coupled with modern mise-en-scene of the performer's apartment before the video, and the older look of the jazz club that Justin Timblerlake performs at offers good contrast throughout the video. The video features mostly medium-long and long shots, allowing more focus on the background, but some close-ups of the lead performer break this trend. The majority of the performance throughout the video is choreographed with small dance segments scattered throughout. The camera tends to stay fixed, with no tracking or pans for the most part, with cuts offering a change of scenery and background, rather than panning or tracking the performer.

Vogue

Despite being 23 years apart, this video shares many similarities with Fincher's latest work, showing a consistent mindset towards videos. This video shares a monochrome overlay, and is choreographed, more so than Suit and Tie, and more recognizably so as the dance from Vogue is very well known. This video differs however, with very little shots having the camera stay still, with a lot of pans, zooms and tracking shots. The pacing of the edits changes depending on where they come in the song, with faster edits appearing around the chorus, with slower edits during the verses.

We Don't Have To...

This song preceded Vogue by a year, but offers a very different video, despite only being a year apart, showing the variety this director is capable of displaying. This video features constant fast paced cuts, with the shot types being mainly wide-angled long shots, with overlays of close-ups edited in front of the backgrounds at certain stages. The camera in this video, much like Vogue is constantly moving, helping to capture the speed and upbeat nature of the song.